The side of the square given below is 10 m and the breadth of the shaded portion is 2 m. Find the area of the shaded portion.

Explanation

The shaded cross is the union of a 10 m × 2 m vertical strip and a 10 m × 2 m horizontal strip. Their 2 m × 2 m intersection is counted twice, so:

10(2)+10(2)-2(2)=20+20-4=36 m².